Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Interview with YA author Suzy Vadori

Suzy is the author
of The Fountain Series, published by Evil Alter Ego Press. Book 1 in the series
was a Finalist for an Aurora Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 2016. The West
Woods is book 2 in the series, and was released in September, 2017.

Welcome, Suzy. Please tell us about your
current release.

The Fountain
Series (The Fountain and The West Woods) are about a boarding
school in New England, where students are granted far reaching wishes, made on
a magical fountain that is concealed in the nearby West Woods. The students’
world and reality constantly shift in the books, and they struggle to adapt
with friendships, rivalry and romance in this complicated world.

What inspired you to write this book?

Sometimes I
feel like I’ve been very lucky in my life. I’m a real glass half-full person. I
really believe that if you want something and are willing to believe it will
happen (and work for it, of course!) it will happen. When building the world
for this series, it was easy for me to envision a world where all the students
got everything they ever wanted, and the chaos that ensues when timelines and
desires collide throughout the generations.

Excerpt from The Fountain:

CHAPTER ONE

The Fountain

“I’m terrified ofexpulsion,”
Ava hissed at Ethan, “but this isn’t negotiable. Go back if you’re scared. I never
asked you to come.”

Ava turned
her back, blinking to clear his cowed expression from her sight. She pushed
deeper into the dark of the West Woods, walking as quickly as she dared,
pushing branches aside that blocked the path as she went. The fountain waited
out there, and it was getting late. The sooner she undid her wish, the sooner
everything could go back to the way it was supposed to be.

She could
tell by the sound of footsteps that Ethan followed, though he seemed to be
keeping his distance. Gritting her teeth, she wished she’d brought her phone.
The thin beam from Ethan’s flashlight, shining from behind, wasn’t strong
enough to show the roots that lay ahead in her path. Turning toward him, she waited.
Despite his teasing, she was really glad he was here. She looked at him smiling
awkwardly at her through the gloom as he approached. Her own thin smile felt
forced. They’d be missed by now.

The New
England wind found the holes in the weave of her sweater, sending a chill up
her back. I wish to undo the wish I made here on September 14th that made Courtney
disappear. I wish to undo the wish I made here on September 14th that made Courtney
disappear.

Ava fiddled
with the coin in her sweater pocket, shivering against the cold. The fountain
had already granted her one wish. She needed it to work again. She watched as
Ethan sidestepped the roots at his feet. His ball cap hid the coal-black shock
of hair she’d grown used to. His dark eyes met hers from beneath the veil of
his cap.

Did he want
to believe her story as much as she wanted him to? Averting her eyes to watch
her feet, she continued along the path. Ethan walked easily beside her. Ava
heard her own breath rise and fall. Ethan’s hand nearly brushed hers as they walked,
the narrow path pushing them together. Ava flexed her fingers, toward the heat
of his hand. One slight move and she could clasp the security that he offered.
Could it really be that simple?

“We’re almost
there,” Ava announced, her voice breaking a little. She cleared her throat and
took a small step sideways, away from him on the path. She noticed him withdraw,
stuffing the hand she’d almost grabbed into his jeans pocket. Ava felt a
sinking feeling. She couldn’t leave St. Augustus yet. There was so much she
needed to explore.

She’d managed
to lead Ethan right into the clearing. The beam from his flashlight shone
before them in a wide arc. Ava dropped the coin she’d been fiddling with, her
hand hanging slack at her side. The coin sank into the long grass at her feet
without making a sound. The clearing blurred in front of her. She felt Ethan
move quickly, his warm arm suddenly pressed against her waist, keeping her from
collapsing onto the ground.

Ava reeled.
This was definitely the clearing where she’d made her wish. So, where was the
fountain?

What exciting story are you working on
next?

Book 3 in The
Fountain Series is due out late 2018, and it’s been so fun to write the
conclusion of this series. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised where it
takes the reader!

When did you first consider yourself a
writer?

I’ve been a
writer my whole life. I wrote my first boarding school novels as a tween (which
I never finished). When I got older and started working in business, I always
volunteered to do as much writing as I could, no matter what my role was.
Technical writing, creating press releases, writing succinct summaries of
business strategy – these things came easily to me.

On maternity
leave with my third child, I decided to sit down and write my first full length
novel. The rest is history.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's
your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find
time to write?

I work full
time as an operations professional, and have a busy family life with three
children. I am very blessed to have an amazingly supportive husband (love you
honey!) that believes in my writing and gives me the time and space to create.

What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?

Operations is
all about problem solving and math. So, my plots tend to be tricky and
surprising. I enjoy writing out of order, then weaving it all back together,
which my sensible side finds woefully inefficient. However, my creative side
enjoys the challenge.

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About Me

I'm a NH native and love New England. I love writing about the region, exploring it on foot, on my bicycle, and in my car. There are so many small communities and fun and interesting people in this area, that I could be here a lifetime and not do all it is I want to do. :)

I'm a moderator at The Writer's Chatroom that hosts live chats with guest authors on Sunday nights 7-9PM EST. Join the e-mail list to get notifications of upcoming guests, then stop in and join the conversation!